Tea Tree Oil for Anti-Mold and Mildew

[Taras]

Hey Everyone,
Watched a recent episode of Travel with Geordie (he's in Vancouver BC) on YouTube and he strongly recommends Tea Tree Oil to prevent mold and mildew in his boat.
I haven't heard of this and sounds really interesting.
The specifics are:
1) His boats are wood (he sprays the wood where he tends to get growth)
2) Dilutes the mixture in a water spray bottle. Puts 30 drops of Tea Tree Oil into a spray bottle filled with water.
3) After shaking vigorously, he sprays the area with a liberal amount.

Tea Tree Essential Oil is available and is inexpensive.

Wondering if anyone else has tried this to prevent mold/mildew growth in other areas of their boat.....maybe canvas??

https://www.amazon.com/Handcraft-Te...676415728&sprefix=tea+tree+oil,aps,266&sr=8-2

 

[fgarriso]

Never heard of it before.

 

[ak-guy]

I have used this for a while. It is a gel that you leave exposed and it goes into the air and can prevent mildew from growing. Or so it says but I really like the smell.
KANBERRA GEL

 

[Comodave]

Or maybe just really good ventilation?

 

[BruceK]

As a pure oil, it`s expensive, but needs diluting for person/animal use. It`s antibacterial and antifungal,produced in Australia, likely elsewhere too. We used it on dogs with an allergic skin reaction, and as an antiseptic. Not tried it on wood to prevent mould but maybe it does. Wonder how long it is active, perhaps the oil residue remains for an extended period.

 

[Mermaid]

If you have pets, be careful, particularly with cats. I believe tea tree oil is one of the several oils that is toxic to them which causes respiratory problems, and eventually death.

 

[Taras]

Yeah, Peter at "Travels with Geordie" says it's anti-mold, mildew effect last a couple years or so..... Looks pretty effective stuff. Just wondering if it would work on canvas too??

 

[Pete Meisinger]

My bilge often smells "like a bilge" . T Tree sounds interesting.

pete

 

[Moonfish]

We've been using Kanberra Gel in its many forms for 10+ years on our liveaboard. Along with dehumidifiers and H2Out Space Dryers, we have had a mold-free boat the entire time. When we speak at boat shows or yacht clubs as liveaboards, my wife lists Kanberra Gel as one of our must-have items in order to liveaboard comfortably. And yes, we sell it, too:

https://www.pacificnwboatertested.com/collections/kanberra-gel

 

[Kit_L]

Tea Tree oil is lovely, but as a veteran of over a year of dealing with mould here on land (floods, etc.), I can say that clove oil in a similar ratio as the OP mentioned for TT oil works even better. It kills mould, and surfaces treated this way stay free of mould.

And clove oil in the bilge is a standard thing here for wooden boats.

We worked through the commercial anti-mould preparations (these are actually not strong enough to kill the mould spores—all of them only bleach the mould, which then comes back), to double strength vinegar, then tea tree oil (the Thursday Plantations brand seems the thinnest and strongest), through to the clove oil suggestion, made to us by someone who 'de-moulds' houses for a living.

All the hardware store–available anti-mould preparations are 5% bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and apparently 10%+ is needed to actually kill the spores.

We have never had a mould problem on the boat, because as Comodave noted above, we have really good ventilation. Nonetheless, we have sprayed the clove oil/water combination on all the visible wood surfaces and not only does the boat smell lovely, no mould despite humidity of 95%, here, as a result of all the standing water from the flooding.

The odour of the close oil is not discernible 24 hours after application, if anyone's worried about that.

 

[David S Haglund]

Agree, tea tree oil is effective. Some time back I came across slightly different recipe and have use it with good results; 14 oz water, 1 oz Murphys Oil Soap, and 10 drops of tea tree oil. Solution can be used as preventative as well as cleaner when you discover overlooked mold.

 

[Southern Boater]

I’ve been using neat double strength vinegar, but mould still returns, I will try the T tree oil, we already use it for many other things mentioned in this thread.

 

[Nepidae]

Tea Tree Oil

I've found the best way to avoid mold or mildew is with solar hatch fans.

Shortly after purchasing our boat, about 12yrs ago, I put solar fans in both hatches on the boat. We have 1 fwd on the deckhouse over the V berth and another aft over the MSR on the sundeck.

The fans, even if the battery is depleted, still allow air to flow thru the boat and this is what keeps the humidity to a minimum which is what causes mold & mildew.

Most button their boat up so no air can move below, hence the formation of mold & mildew. Often, they will then incorporate a dehumidifier and that carries its own set of issues and also run an air conditioner which isn't economical.

We have been on the Loop for the last 8yrs and before that boated on the Chesapeake and have never had issues with mold or mildew.

BTW, we also leave the boat where we have gotten to during our cruising season so it has been in a wide range of climates and is usually for 4-6 months at a time. I speak from experience.

We like the smell of tea tree but use it sparingly, maybe after cooking.

Have fun.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Willing to give the TTO a try with the new boat (VERY small cabin) but on our former boat we had oscillating fans running 24/7 with no mold issues. 46' Cheoy Lee Trawler with 10 fans. A fair amount of circulation IMO.